IKEA Australia is debuting a new brand campaigns to celebrate its 50th anniversary in Australia 2025, marking half a century since the opening of its first store in St Leonards, Sydney, in 1975.

To commemorate this milestone, the company has introduced a 360-degree brand campaign titled ‘Just the Start’. The campaign reflects on IKEA’s impact on Australian homes over the past five decades and outlines its future plans.

It includes a locally produced TV commercial that highlights the Australian cultural insight of relying on friends, especially those with a ute, during pivotal life moments. The campaign will be featured across various platforms, including free-to-air TV, broadcast video on demand, subscription video on demand, YouTube, cinema, paid social, and outdoor media.

As part of the celebrations, IKEA is offering special promotions during its birthday weekend, such as 50-cent Swedish hot dogs and a 50% discount on the POÄNG armchair. Additionally, there’s also a distinctly Australian twist with 3000 limited-edition flat-packed FLIP FLÖPS up for grabs, which require customer assembly, via a competition.

The campaign aims to blend global brand consistency with local Australian authenticity, featuring iconic Australian elements such as cars, flies, and art deco housing.

Kirsten Hasler, Head of Marketing and Insights at IKEA Australia, stated, “We had a rare opportunity to create a distinct local campaign which blended global brand consistency with local authenticity. Across the campaign there is a clear sense of Australianness achieved by celebrating people, places and scenarios that Aussies can relate to. We placed iconic Australian cues throughout with the likes of cars, flies, art deco housing, streetscapes and busted thongs that make the campaign unmistakeably us. We surrounded the Australianness with our iconic global IKEA brand cues to make it equally unmistakeably IKEA.”

The campaign is supported by agencies Havas Host, Mindshare Australia, Mango Communications, and DDB Sydney.

“Just the Start doesn’t just celebrate the role IKEA plays in our lives – it shines a light on the quintessential Aussie value of mates helping each other out. At a time when we’re craving connection more than ever, this campaign is an ode to those who show up, pitch in, and carry the heavy end of the load,” Olly Taylor, Chief Strategy Officer at Havas Host, commented.

Kirsty Hunter, Mindshare Client Partner, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, saying, “We were incredibly excited to collaborate with IKEA on their 50th anniversary campaign, an amazing achievement that speaks to Australia’s now flat pack-loving culture. We’re proud to help IKEA celebrate its role in Australian homes and look forward to being part of what they have in store for the next 50.”

Patricia Routledge, Head of Communications at IKEA Australia, noted the significance of the campaign, stating, “We have been there for so many big moments in Australians’ lives, and we saw an opportunity to bring that magic to life in exciting ways for both IKEA co-workers and consumers.”

“The simplicity of the flatpack FLIP FLÖPS – fusing a key brand cue with one of our national icons, is a really special way for us to unleash that trademark IKEA ‘twinkle in the eye’ as we call it, and say thanks to Australians for welcoming us into their homes for the last five decades.”

Tabitha Fairbairn, Managing Director at Mango Communications, shared insights on the campaign’s development: “It’s rare to receive a brief that enables you to go full Aussie with a global icon. We were tasked with bringing IKEA’s 50th to life in an earned-led way that would drive mass attention – and it was a joy for all of us.”

The idea of bringing together an iconic Aussie item with IKEA ingenuity by creating flatpack FLIP FLÖPS was a major highlight. “The detail and thought that went into every touch point – from the intrinsically funny copy and line drawings in the manual, the box and packaging design, the tongue-in-cheek ‘simple three-step assembly process’ – all of these bring the brand to life in a way that is naturally newsworthy. I’ll never say driving the earned strategy was easy, but there are certainly harder jobs out there,” added Fairbairn.

IKEA’s stores, referred to as ‘big blue boxes’, will be used to drive visitation during the birthday weekend celebrations. The campaign also includes a focus on earned media and communication with IKEA’s 4000 co-workers in Australia.